February 28, 2011

In a victory — at least a symbolic one — for Wisconsin’s public employee unions, the Capitol authorities announced on Sunday that demonstrators could continue their all-night sleepovers in the building and would not be forcibly ejected or arrested.

Well, yes. A decision was made that it wasn't worth the drama to oust these people who've been clean and orderly enough. Plus, the police are — it seems to me — sympathetic to the protest. As for the GOP politicians who dominate the state government: Why would they want to make martyrs out of the folks who've worked so long and hard to demonstrate how strongly they care? They've been hanging out in the Capitol, enduring the cacophony of their own drumming and chanting and sleeping on the hard stone floor for 10+ days. They're punishing themselves. Why not let them suffer, unmolested, and continue to generate images that disturb the Wisconsinites who voted the Republicans into office 3 months ago?

It was my impression, based on coverage here and elsewhere, that the demonstrators were hoping for a low-level confrontation with police. It's a propaganda war and video of the protesters being physically removed, even if quite gently, would have been very helpful in turning public opinion to their cause. Nobody (well, very few) on either side wants to be seen as provoking any sort of physical confrontation. The decision to not oust the protesters is no "victory" for the insurgents.

My recollection from grade school "Wisconsin studies" back in the 50s is that Wisconsin has no state police force. Except the highway patrol which, at least then, did not have general police authority. Is that still true? Is there a state law enforcement agency that the governor could have used to enforce the closing of the Capitol building or must the State rely on county and city law enforcement in a situation such as this? Short of calling out the NG, of course. If the State must rely on the locals, is there a method for State authorities to exercise control?

You keep saying that the protest was clean and orderly. I don't know exactly what you think other protests look like in terms of order and cleanliness, but there are many orderly and clean protests.

It really sounds like you're trying - desperately! - to push this idea that Wisconsinites, even union thug Wisconsinites, are more clean and orderly than your average protesters, which I'm not sure is the case.

As we've seen, Wisconsin is no bastion of anything resembling anything particularly "good". Many of the public "servants" are obnoxious, spoiled, thuggish, and frankly, ugly.

You may think that the protests are some sort of example of civil protests, but I've been to protests in New York, for example, that are cleaner, more orderly, and much more civil.

Does the Capitol police even have the manpower to oust the sleepover crowd?I understand the City police are refusing to help out with any crowd control and will not receive arrestees.The Governor could call in the Highway Patrol and/or the National Guard, but then the MSM would go positively giddy with visions of Kent State, etc. dancing in their heads. Much better to keep it as low-key as possible, and let these wear out their welcome with the public with their tiresome foolishness.

Well, it's not much of a strain -- just a little rhetorical color, really, a way to get you interested in reading past the opening -- and at least has the upside of a factual basis.

That the NYT coverage is decidedly Dem and pro-union is par for the course. Next thing you know, some one will notice the same thing about CBS and NPR, while the usual suspects will make a crack about the opposite perspective at Fox.

The criticism -- that the NYT (and CBS and NPR and Fox and ...) have a thumb on the scale in favor of their favored political team -- draws an implied contrast with an Eden that never was, a time of objective, politics-neutral journalism. Even as an imagined ideal, that's at least 30 years out of date, and definitely pre-internet. Truth be told, a politics-neutral journalism would lack an organizing perspective, offering up only a thin, vapid and tasteless mush. Boring. We all know where the NYT (and CBS and NPR and Fox ...) are coming from, so just relax and enjoy it (or enjoy hating it, which amounts to the same thing).

One thing for sure: Ann does enjoy it, an enjoys even more poking fun at its pretensions (that 'all the news that's fit to print' stuff is always a good place to start, as is 'fair and balanced').

Victory is a way off for labor. Reaganites have been planning a long time to rid the nation of unions. Do people really think that one protest will save the day?

If the protesters defend their bargaining rights, it would be a victory for sure. Better yet, impeach Walker. That is yet another reason we need a parliamentary sytem: it's easier to get rid of crooks, sometimes.

As any experienced parent will readily tell you: whenever a sulky and irrational child is simply bound and determined to have that kicking, screaming full-bore tantrum, come hell or high water... you simply wait 'em out, until they've finally (and inevitably) exhausted themselves.

I have a funny feeling there's a certain number of protesters eager for the government to crack down and push them out so they can go home and stop sleeping on the floor. If you're a crazy leftoid proto hippie protester, you don't want to be the first one to suggest going home.

What should AA focus on right now? All of left-wing pet peeves like creationists, abortion bombers, Wall Street crooks? Yeah let's pretend the Wisconsin labor thing isn't happening and focus on THOSE things to satisfy shiloh.

The order went out for the cops to clear out the building. The cops didn't. Obvious sign of weakness when an administrator can't administrate.

I would agree with Jim on the gist of this comment though I think I have a different take on why its concerning.

If the Governor can't count on the police then what does say about the power of the State Government as the employer to direct its employees, the police? Still a long way from Greece but getting a little closer.

Walker has just given the craven fleebaggers a 24-hour "drop dead" deadline. Excerpt:

"Walker addresses a joint session of the legislature tomorrow night, in what will surely be showdown moment between himself and the fleebaggers. If they don’t send someone to provide a quorum at that point, Walker will almost certainly announce layoffs and blame them on Democrats who won’t participate as a minority, but instead insist on dictating to the majority. Unfortunately for everyone, there seems to be no way for fleebaggers to save face at this point. Walker is obviously not retreating from his position — and since he has the votes necessary to pass the bill, he doesn’t have to retreat."

I don't see a lot of conversation, or even mention, of the poor precedent that fleeing to a neighboring state sets up. It strikes me as negotiating with kidnappers. As soon as you start paying ransom, you will start getting more of that behavior.

If the Democrats "won" on this issue by force the GOP in Wisconsin to cave on collective rights issue, they would have to expect, and forever more expect, any vote requiring a quorum to be subjected to minority hostage-taking.

In the face of that, regardless of the issue and regardless of the party holding the majority, I don't see how someone in the governor's manse could possibly change course without inviting this "fleebagging" behavior to happen again and again.

It is certainly time to hand each one a citation for trespass for each day they remain in the capital building overnight.

The proceeds from the citations would at least start to cover the incremental costs, and if they were for say, $1000 per day per person, not sure of the citation limits in state statutes, this would give the ones that have assets that can be attached both a reason and an excuse to leave.

It is also time to quit allowing materials to enter the capital that can be used to attach signs to the walls, etc. The protestors have freedom of speech, but do not have the freedom to deface the building or to block the normal operations gong on within it.

Its was the NYTs Eric Lipton that targeted the Koch brothers with this unsourced quote:

Even before the new governor was sworn in last month, executives from the Koch-backed group had worked behind the scenes to try to encourage a union showdown, Mr. Phillips said in an interview on Monday.

Mr Phillips (Koch rep) never said this. Lipton has failed to back it up. But the NYTs wanted a narrative so they created the "quote" out of thin air.

http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2011/02/028470.php

I've said it before, I'll say it again: If you found out your stock broker had lied to you about Enron, would you use him again? And yet, people continue to use the likes of CNN and the NYTs as their information brokers.